2016 New Zealand NBL season
The 2016 NBL season was the 35th season of the National Basketball League. The league's team total dropped to an all-time low for the 2016 season, with the departure of the Manawatu Jets leaving the competition with seven teams.
The 2016 pre-season tournament was held at the Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua from Friday 26 February through Sunday 28 February. The four-team event featured the Canterbury Rams, Nelson Giants, Wellington Saints and a Porirua invitational team. The regular season commenced on Thursday 10 March in Wellington with the Wellington Saints hosting the Super City Rangers at TSB Bank Arena. The season contained 12 weeks of regular season games and a Final Four series on Queens' Birthday weekend in June. As the only team based north of Hawke's Bay, the Rangers utilised two new 'home' venues around the Upper North Island, Te Awamutu and Whangarei, providing increased exposure for elite basketball in that area of the country.
The regular season concluded with the Rams earning a playoff berth for the first time since 2002 and their first minor premiership since 1993, while the Hawks recorded their first winless season in franchise history and joined the 1998 Northland Suns, 2009 Taranaki Mountainairs, 2010 Otago Nuggets and 2015 Taranaki Mountainairs as the only sides in NBL history to go an entire season without a win.
For the first time in the competition's history, Invercargill hosted the Final Four weekend, with the semifinals on Friday 3 June, followed by the championship game on Saturday 4 June.Team information
Summary
Final Four
Awards
Player of the Week
Stats as of the end of the regular season
| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
| Points per game | Eric Devendorf | Super City Rangers | 25.8 |
| Rebounds per game | Alex Pledger | Southland Sharks | 11.4 |
| Assists per game | McKenzie Moore | Canterbury Rams | 8.2 |
| Steals per game | McKenzie Moore | Canterbury Rams | 3.4 |
| Blocks per game | Daniel Miller | Taranaki Mountainairs | 1.9 |
Regular season
- Most Valuable Player: McKenzie Moore
- NZ Most Valuable Player: Marcel Jones
- Most Outstanding Guard: McKenzie Moore
- Most Outstanding NZ Guard: Shea Ili
- Most Outstanding Forward: Marcel Jones
- Most Outstanding NZ Forward/Centre: Marcel Jones
- Scoring Champion: Eric Devendorf
- Rebounding Champion: Alex Pledger
- Assist Champion: McKenzie Moore
- Rookie of the Year: Logan Elers
- Coach of the Year: Ross McMains
- All-Star Five:
- * G: McKenzie Moore
- * G: Raymond Cowels
- * F: Torrey Craig
- * F: Marcel Jones
- * C: Alex Pledger
Final Four
- Finals MVP: Tai Wesley
